Deputies union offers reward in homeless killings

The Orange County sheriff's deputies union announced a $5,000 reward Friday for information leading to the arrest of a serial killer targeting local homeless men, as authorities continue to search for the person suspected in three recent slayings.

Hoping to encourage someone with information about what police have characterized as a "serious, dangerous serial killer" to step forward, the Association of Orange County Deputy Sheriffs is offering the reward for information that leads to the capture and conviction of the person responsible for the killings.

Authorities believe that three middle-aged homeless men have been killed by the same person in the past several weeks.

James McGillivray was killed Dec. 20 while sleeping outside a Placentia shopping center. The body of Lloyd Middaugh, 42, was found eight days later on the Santa Ana River Trail in Anaheim. Two days later, Paulus Cornelius Smit, 57, was found dead behind the Yorba Linda library.

All were stabbed repeatedly.

The only physical description of the killer has come from a grainy surveillance video from the Placentia murder, which appears to show a male wearing a dark, hooded sweat shirt.

Police also seek a white, four-door 2000 to 2003 Toyota Corolla seen on video more than an hour before McGillivray was attacked.

While none of the killings have taken place within the Orange County Sheriff's Department coverage areas, the department is part of a task force formed to catch the serial killer. The task force includes investigators from Placentia, Anaheim and Brea, as well as the FBI.

"He's victimizing already vulnerable members of our society," union President Tom Dominguez said in a written release. "One of the most sacred tenets of law enforcement is protecting those who cannot protect themselves, be it the homeless, the elderly, the disabled or children. He must be caught before he kills again."

In the wake of the killings, authorities are urging local homeless individuals to take refuge in nearby shelters or to stay in groups.

Volunteer Guardian Angels are also pitching in, patrolling in cars and on foot in areas where the homeless sleep and congregate.

Meanwhile, the police task force Tuesday set up a roadblock near the scene of the first homicide, stopping hundreds of vehicles in an attempt to find someone who may have seen something the day of the killing.

Authorities are asking anyone with information to call the Anaheim Police Department at 714-765-1944 or email htf@anaheim.net.